Coward of the Moon
by DiRosso
Summary: Human/Village/Werewolf AU. There's a werewolf, although many don't believe it. Could it be someone within the village? Only time will tell.


The sound of a bell rang throughout the village, which called everybody to gather into the village hall, where an important meeting, which might determine the fate of everyone, would take place. The villagers entered the building in a non-dignifying matter, as each one of them wanted to sit with specific people and in specific spots. As everyone entered the building, they saw one of the village founders, Arthur, behind a podium in the back of the hall. He organized his notes for the speech he was about to give. At first, he looked rather flustered, but he relaxed when more villagers arrived. However, most of them seemed uninterested in Arthur's meeting. They had a feeling that he'd be talking about the so-called "wolf problem". Noise flooded the hall as everyone talked about how crazy Arthur was. Ever since he started the meetings to stop this "wolf", most everyone had lost respect for the man. There were even rumors going on about him that involve seeing mythical creatures with the "wolf" being one of them.

After ten minutes of settling in, the noise level inside finally dropped, and all focus was on Arthur. He took a deep breath and looked out into the crowd. He swore the number of villagers multiplied by two since the last meeting. He wondered if maybe then he'd have more believers. After a quick moment, he cleared his throat before speaking.

"I think you all know why we're here," Arthur announced. His voice echoed throughout the building. "Last night, as we all know, was the full moon. When there's a full moon, there's always a werewolf." A few groans came out from the audience. Arthur scowled and pounded his fist onto the podium. "Do you think this is a joke?" he spat. "Our lives are at stake! I even had Alfred help me bring physical evidence proving the existence of this beast!" Arthur's eyes moved to where Alfred sat. "Do you think you could back me up here?"

"What Arthur says is true." All eyes turned to Alfred, another founder and also Arthur's cousin. He sat in his chair with one leg crossed over the other, arms folded, and he had a smirk on his face. "I didn't believe Arthur at first until he brought me out to the woods this morning. There's something out there that isn't natural. What he had me help bring back is a bear carcass, and I'll admit, that wasn't my favorite job he's had me do. The bite and claw marks are huge, and that bear was already big to begin with. No normal wolf could have taken it down on its own. And remember, we've checked the area several times during the night and day. We've never spotted any signs of wolves, or a wolf pack. However, after the night of a full moon, that's when we see signs." Alfred opened his eyes and looked at the villagers. "If you don't believe me, then believe the bear."

"Then let's see it! I knew something smelt like death in here!" someone called out from the other side of the room.

"I shall remind you all that there are children here," Arthur called out as he looked back to the crowd. "Those who wish to see the bear will have to wait until after the meeting." A lone hand rose from the front of the room. Arthur spotted the person and pointed to them. "Kiku, do you have something you want to say?"

Kiku sat in front of his two friends, Feliciano and Ludwig. He rose before he spoke. "I hate to disagree with you, Arthur, because I consider you a valued friend" he said, "but we've been living here for two years now, and in those two years, you've always spoke about this werewolf. We even had that wall built around the village to protect us. If there really was something out there, it would have broken down our wall. I apologize, but the idea of a werewolf is too fictional." Kiku sat right down.

"He's right," Ludwig said. Like Alfred, he had his arms crossed. "There's no such thing as werewolves. Anyone who believes in this need to have their head checked."

"Ludwig!" cried his brother, Gilbert, who sat next to him. He shook Ludwig's sleeve frantically. "We've seen animal carcasses like what's been described every time we'd go hunting after a full moon! Like Alfred said, no normal wolf could take down anything like a bear! We've seen many bears out there! And remember that one full moon when we woke up to howling?"

"You're acting irrational, Gilbert. Let go of me and try to finish the meeting without making ignorant claims."

Yao, a founder who was sitting in front of the brothers, looked over at them and groaned. "None of us have been injured, so we have nothing to worry about. Werewolves are nothing but a myth."

"Damn right!" Feliciano's brother, Lovino shouted. "You all need to think with your heads for a change!"

"Will you all just listen?" Arthur shouted. "The carcasses we've been finding have been getting closer to the village each month. This means it won't be long until one of us is attacked. Unfortunately, it'll take another few months until our wall is strong enough to hold back this monster. But if I find even a single paw-print near the wall next month, we're all leaving this village for good."

"No!"

The villagers turned their attention to Feliciano, who was standing up and shivering. He held a little white flag in his hands, which was his way of feeling safe. He gasped in fear after he realized what he had done.

"Feliciano, you're saying you'd rather stay here and risk getting killed?" Arthur snarled. "Do you want us to just sit here and wait as we all die?"

"No!" Feliciano cried. "No, no, I didn't mean any that!" He shook his head rampantly. "I was just scared of the idea of that werewolf getting close to the village that's all! I just thought of one of us getting hurt and it scared me!"

"Your explanation doesn't tell me why you protested to leaving the village!" Arthur shouted.

"I didn't mean it like that! I just started to panic!"

Ludwig let out a groan. "Feliciano, just sit down. You're making matters worse." Feliciano looked over at Ludwig, and then back at Arthur.

"I'm sorry, Arthur." Feliciano sat back down. Tears were forming from his eyes.

Ludwig looked up at Arthur. "Listen to me, all of this is a waste of time," he called out. "Dismiss us all so we can go back to our lives. There are also some of us that have to build that wall you insist we continue to build."

Arthur's blood had started to boil. Only a few believed him, which he found to be ridiculous. All the man wanted to do was protect his fellow villagers. He glanced at Ludwig for a while before he lowered his head in defeat. "Fine," he murmured. "But when that wolf comes into the village one night, you better not be crawling back to me." Arthur stepped down from the podium, and walked out of the building. Alfred and Francis followed him

"Arthur!" Alfred called out. "Wait up, man!"

Arthur didn't look back. He just kept on walking. "I want to be left alone," he shouted. "I only have a month before I can save this village."

"What are you talking about?" Francis asked. "The bear wasn't relatively close to the village. There's still plenty of time."

Arthur stopped walking. "The night of the next full moon, someone is going to get hurt. I can feel it."

Back in the hall, Ludwig was examining the dead bear that was behind the podium, with Feliciano hiding behind him. Both kept a good distance from the carcass, but Ludwig was better at looking at it. Feliciano would take small peeks at it before screaming and looking away.

"Can we go now?" Feliciano whimpered. "Being here isn't helping my appetite."

"The last thing that should be on your mind right now is food," Ludwig grumbled. "The claw marks on this bear are impressive," he stated. "I wouldn't say that it's a werewolf, however."

Feliciano gulped. "You don't?"

Ludwig shook his head. "No. This area just has a large wolf that we have yet to spot. Considering how much meat is missing from it, its appetite is just like yours."

"Why would you even make such a comparison?" Feliciano shrieked.

"I was trying to tell a joke!" Ludwig snapped. "If you're going to be this big of a pain, will you just go bother my brother instead?"


End file.
